Trump: "We Will Attack Pickaxe Mountain Very Soon" – No Interest in Negotiating

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will strike a suspected Iranian nuclear bunker, known as Pickaxe Mountain, "very soon." Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he has no interest in negotiating with Iran, claiming they are "not ready." Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified underground facility near one of Iran's old uranium enrichment plants. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Israel believes Iran moved thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside the mountain. Trump admitted he has no official proof of the transfer. "We only read the fake news media," he said. "Maybe they got it right this time, but it doesn't matter. We will attack that area very soon, and with great force." The announcement comes as the US has intensified airstrikes against Iran. A provisional ceasefire agreement has collapsed after 10 consecutive days of bombing. Iran's Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, met with mediators in Pakistan, but no end to the fighting is in sight. Experts warn that attacking the bunker may be difficult. James Acton, co-director of the Carnegie Endowment, said Pickaxe Mountain's tunnels are likely over 100 meters deep. He noted that the US military's most powerful bunker-buster bomb, the GBU-57, may not be able to penetrate that depth. "These facilities are essentially invulnerable to non-nuclear weapons," Acton said. Ali Vaez, a director at the Crisis Group, said the timing of the leaks appears designed to provoke escalation. "They seem meant to close any path back to diplomacy and chain both sides to an endless war." Trump also claimed that Iranian representatives are "desperate" to meet and end the war. But he added: "Until they are ready to do it in a meaningful way, we have no interest." The Pentagon has estimated the war in Iran has cost $37.5 billion so far. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Tuesday, requesting an additional $87.6 billion in emergency funding. He said the money is "urgent and necessary" to avoid critical shortages. At least 17 US soldiers have died since the conflict began. On Monday, Trump warned that "every time Iran kills a US soldier, they will pay for that death many times over."